Car seal



patented May 14, 1929.

UNITED STATES JOHN KORO SGHETZ, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

can; SEAL.

Application filed July 5, 1927. Serial N0. 203,400.

. provide a more secure lock for the ends of the seal strap, in which the possibility of opening the head, in which the ends of the strap are locked by edge pressure will be effectively eliminated; in other words, it is my object to provide a construction of strap ends and head for receiving and locking the ends therein and whereby the ends of the strap,

when once entered, cannot be released without such a complete distortion or destruction of the head as to absolutely prevent the restoration of the seal to a conditionwhere it mi ht be used to indicate that a car isstill sea ed.

A particular feature of my invention is the formation of the end receiving head convex'in transverse cross-section, and whereby transverse pressure applied to the head will tend to close the side walls of the head more firmly upon the strap ends rather than tend to release the ends by spreading the sides apart as inthe constructions now in common use.

A further-object is to provide a construction of such formationas to be readily produced by automatic punch and die machinery to the end that the cost shall be reduced to such a low point as to ensure commercial success. a

My invention will be more readily under stood by reference to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification and in which p Fig. 1, is a plan view of the devlce, the strap shown in full lines and the head shown in dotted lines; b

Fig. 2, is a longitudinalsectional view of the strap on the line 2--2 of Fig.1, the head shown in dotted lines;

Fig. 3, is a front elevation of the seal as 1t appears in use; a a

Fig. 4, is a rear elevatlon of the seal as it appears in use; a g

Fig. 5, is a central longltudinal section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6, is a cross-section on the line 6-6 of Figs. 4 and 5.

In said drawings 1 is a sheet metal. strap made of relatively thin sheet metal and preferably made of strap metal of uniform width.

Strap metal of suchform is an article of co1n merce and in making my seal'I prefer to use such. strap metal, merely cutting pieces of suitable length from a long strip of metal and performing the necessary operations upon these pieces to make them of the form desired. Besides these pieces of strap metal my seal includes a head piece 2 whichis preferably made of a single piece of metal drawn into tubular form from a flat piece of sheet metal somewhat thicker than the strap and formed into a head for receiving the ends of the strap 1. The head 2 is closed except atone end where the two ends of the strap 1 enter. When the head 2 is finished, as shown in the drawings, it is in the form of a relatively flat pocket-like member having an opening 3 at one end slightly wider than the strap 1 and of a size in the other direction to just admit the two thicknesses of the strap, as shown in Fig. 5, and not large enough to admit a third thickness.

In making the seal the ends of the strap are-first formed and then the head 2 is permanently secured upon one endof the strap, the other end being adapted to be inserted into the head and locked against removal when theseal is made use of.

The end i of the strap is formed to be secured permanentlyin the head 2. For this purpose the extreme portion of the end a is bent up at a right angle to the strip to form a shoulder-like part 5, and as shown in Fig. 5, the head. 2, in the process of manufacture is formed around this bent up part, the front wall of the head being formed down in front of the part 5, as shown at 7, to prevent the withdrawal. of the end 4 from the head. As an added security the end 4 is provided with a perforation 8 next to the shoulder 5 and the wall 6 of the head is forced into this opening as by means of a center punch, as shown at 8, thus providing a second hold of the head 2 upon the end 4 ofthe strap.

The end 4 of the strap has its corners cut off, as shown at 9, and consequently the shoulder part 5 is not as wide as the strap, this is for the purpose of accommodating the end of the strap in the head 2, as the head in its process of manufacture has a more or less round bottom.

The opposite end 10 of the strap is provided with an opening 11 and this end is rounded, as shown at 12, and slightlytapered edgewise to facilitate its entrance into the mouthB of the head. To provide a shoulder to enterthe opening 11 of the end 10, when this end is pushed into the head, and lock this end in the head, the end 4 is provided with a struck up projection 12. This projection 12 is formed up, making a'short transverse incision or cut at 13 in the end 4 of the strap and forming the metal of the strap up into V-shape at the side of the out toward the body of the strap, thus forming a projection opposed to the bent up end .5 andxspaced therefrom. The projection 12 is V-shapcd transversely of the strap and it presents an inclined surface 14 toward thebody of the strap, 'When the end dis, secured in the he'ad2- the inclined surface 1 f the pro-- jection 12 is presented toward the opening or mouth 3 of the cap so that when the opposite orfree' end Not the strapis pushed into the cap this end will slide up this inclined face oft-he projection 12, thus forcing the end 10 away. from the end 4 sufficient to let it snap over the projection 12 and engage the base or flat end 15'of the projection. The sidewall 1-6'of the head 2 which is adjacent to the projection 12 is rounded up both transversely, as

- therefrom by any jarring or hitting of the As an additional means of locking the two ends against removal from the head the rear wall 18 of the head and which is the side opposite-to the side 16 is forced inwardly, as shown at.19, at apointopposite to the projection '12 and is forced into the opening produced inthe body of the strip by the forming up of the projection 12. This formation, shownat 19, produces a shoulder on the wall 18. lofthe head 2 which engages the end 4 of the strap-at the cut 13. Furthermore, this projection 19extends up into't-he V-shaped projection 12 and is in position to engage the opposite end-10 0f the strap in addition to the engagement1 of the strap by the projection 12.= The end 10 of the strap is thus locked against removal by the wall. of the head as Well as bythe projection 12.

To prevent the. possibility of the user at- A tempting to force the free end 10 of the strap into the head at the rear side of the cnd4 ot-the strap, there is provided a rounded projection 20 on the'end 4 at a suitable position on the strap 1 so that when the end 4 of the strap is secured in the head the projection will .be located close enough to the mouth v3 of the head to prevent the end 10 entering the mouth 3'at the wrong side.

For the purpose of additional Security against the possibility of working the end 10 outof the head after it has once been inserted, there is provided a weakened transverse line 21 across the end 10 of the strap at such a position that when the end 10 is inserted into the head far enough to engage the projection 12 the line or cut 21 will be coincident with the mouth 3 of the head. Any attempt to work the end 10 free of the head by manipulating the strap will cause the strap to break at the line 21 and the short end 10 thus broken oil will extend just to the mouth 3 of the head. If this end extended further out than this it might be possible to push the broken end of the strap between the two ends 4 and 10 and give the seal the appearance of being unbroken, but such deceit is precluded by the arrangement described.

In making the cut 21 it is preferably made shorter in length than the width of the strap, as best shown in Fig. 1, so that the strap will have sufficient strength and rigidity at this point to be properly locked without fracture. Further the cut is preferably made by means of a tool pressed into the stra from the front, thus forcing the metal of e strap out toward the back of the strap, as shown at 22. This projected part or lip forms a shoulder so located that it contacts with the adjacent end of the head 2 when the end 10 of the strap is inserted far enough to engage the projection 12 and prevents any attempt to force the end 10 farther into the head.

The old form of head which is somewhat egg shaped is opened up by transverse pressure and it is sometimes easy to release the strap and leave the seal in condition to be rescaled. This possibility is eliminated by the form of head in this present invention. As best shown in Fig. 6, the head is somewhat convex as a whole transversely-4hit is, the rear wall is curved or sunk inwardly and the front or opposite wall 16 is curved outwardly, consequently if the head is squeezed transversely the rear wall 18 is forced inwardly toward the opposite wall, and instead of freeing the end 10 to permit it to be withdrawn it actually locks the ends tighter in the head for the reason that the projection 19 is forced toward the opposite wall 16 of the head.

As many modifications of theinvention will readily suggest themselves to one skilled in the art, I do not limit or confine the invention to the specific details of construction and operation herein shown and described.

f I claim:

1. In a car seal, a strap of relatively thin sheet metal, a head having thicker Walls, the head being closed and provided at one end with a slot of a size to admit only two thicknesses of the strap, the head being formed with top and bottom similarly trmasversely curved walls, one end of the strap fixed within the head and provided with a struck up projection extending toward the outwardly curved wall, the inwardly curved wall have ing a formed up projection extending into i the back of the struck up projection on the strap end, the other end of the strap having an opening adapted to receive the struck up projection of the secured end, the outwardly curved wall of the head being adapted to force the apertured end of the strap down over said formed up projection as said end is forced into the head.

2. In a car seal of the strap or ribbon type,

a cap or head in which one end of the strap is irremovably fixed, the cap adapted to receive the other end of the strap, means for automaticall latching said other end in the head, one si e wall of the head being curved outwardly and convex in transverse cross section and the opposite side wall concave and such curvatures extending substantially from edge to edge whereby transversely applied pressure will tend to close said walls together upon the strap ends.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this 10th day of May, 1927.

JOHN KOROSCHETZ. 

